Bring finance law into compliance

State legislators should be proud of the work that went into the state's Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2005.

And they should set to work as quickly as possible to fix the parts of it that a federal judge says are unfair to candidates from minor political parties.

Though U.S. District Court Judge Stefan Underhill ruled that a section of the act is unconstitutional, it's also worth noting the praise he employed in his 138-page August decision.

"Good motives underlie the enactment," he wrote, "... to combat actual and perceived corruption arising out of large contributions from private sources ..."

Underhill cited the state's "goundbreaking efforts to increase the public's confidence in state lawmakers and to promote the integrity of the electoral system as a whole. Spurred on by a regrettable legacy of corruption that has pervaded all levels of elected office in recent decades, Connecticut is now commendably at the forefront of a nationwide movement to increase transparency in the political process," Underhill wrote.

All that having been said, the judge also found that Connecticut's law puts minority parties at a disadvantage given their histories of paltry fundraising, among other factors. The state has appealed Underhill's ruling. But it seems more sensible to rework those parts of the act that the judge found objectionable.

State Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, co-chairwoman of the elections committee, would seem to be in position to get some action moving.

The act is a good one and legislators, rather than waiting for the outcome of the appeal, should do whatever tweaking is necessary so the act can pass muster and remain in effect for the elections of 2010.